The Negative Effects of Imperialism on Vietnam
Ethan Zhang
Honors WH
4/13/2023
Matula 4th Period
The effects of French and Japanese imperialism on Vietnam have lasted for over a century and have led to the country's current struggles such as poverty and corruption. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, France colonized a lot of what is now Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. France was colonizing for status, money, and to spread the influence of Christianity to southeast Asia. French and Japanese imperialism of Vietnam made the local population poorer, brought war to the area, and destroyed many aspects of Vietnamese culture. During French occupation, there was a lot of development in agriculture and economy, but it only benefited the elites
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"The increasing influence of Japan in Indochina led Vietnamese nationalist and communist leader Ho Chi Minh to form a guerilla fighting force” (“French Indochina”, Vietnam War). After World War II, British and Chinese forces had to disarm the losing Japanese that were occupying Vietnam, leading to more warfare from the Japanese resistance. This also allows the French to take back Southern Vietnam after the war ("French Indochina", Japanese Imperialism). The withdrawal of troops from Japan in Vietnam allows the Viet Minh to take over much of northern Vietnam because of the lack of presence of the French in the north. This allows for the communists to establish the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the fighting with the French for total Vietnamese unification is called the First Indochina War. This war ended in a victory for the Viet Minh and the signing of the Geneva Accords, allowing the north and south to separate and vote for unification. Additionally, France would have to withdraw all influence and its claims in Indochina (“French Indochina”, Vietnam War). Ho Chi Minh's rise to power as a communist leader directly leads to the Vietnam War and the takeover of the communists in Vietnam. During the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, anti-communist politician Ngo Dinh Diem takes over South Vietnam. Because of the anti-Viet …show more content…
This came with costs to the Vietnamese culture. "Traditional local temples, pagodas, monuments and buildings, some of which had stood for a millennium, were declared derelict and destroyed. Buildings of French architecture and style were erected in their place". Parts of major cities in Vietnam could almost look like they were straight from France rather than from Southeast Asia (Llewellyn, Jennifer, et al.). Not only were physical buildings being changed, but culture and language was being changed as well. Business like banking and trade were changed to being spoken in French (Llewellyn, Jennifer, et al.). Schools taught children in urban areas about supremacy of French values and culture (Llewellyn, Jennifer, et al.). Locals were not allowed to say the word "Vietnam" to avoid the rise of Vietnamese nationalism ("French Indochina", Japanese Imperialism). Additionally, traditional ways of writing Vietnamese were replaced by a Roman alphabet ("French Indochina", Japanese Imperialism). These were all efforts by France to force the Vietnamese to become more westernized and to strengthen their grip on the